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The NFL has lost roughly 1 in 5 viewers since 2015, according to Nielsen.

Details of the deal: Marlins send Dee Gordon and $1 million in international slot money to the Mariners for a trio of prospects — RHP Nick Neidert, SS Chris Torres and RHP Robert Dugger. For a full evaluation of both sides of the deal, check out David Schoenfield’s trade grades (Insider).

The 49ers aren’t ruining anything with their suddenly victorious identity under Jimmy Garoppolo They’re getting a head start on building something much bigger for next season.

Through Week 13, the “NFL on Fox’s” average TV audience fell 12 percent to 17.4 million viewers from the same period in 2016. The TV audience for the network’s “America’s Game of the Week” between the Saints and Panthers on Dec. 3 plummeted 20 percent to 20.2 million viewers. To illustrate the strength of NFL programming, however, the telecast still ranked as the most-watched program of the week on TV, according to the network.

Sports TV networks often adjust budgets based on rising/falling ad sales. But few at Fox, which pays an estimated $1 billion annually for NFL game rights, expected a serious downturn from pro football; the TV equivalent of beachfront property in Malibu.

That was the last full season before 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick launched his protest during the national anthem, which inspired dozens of players and coaches to sit, take a knee or raise a fist against racial injustice.